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I still can't get past the name - I'm in California and all I think about when I hear Pinto is beans. Did that not trigger any alarms in Ford USA marketing in t

I still can't get past the name - I'm in California and all I think about when I hear Pinto is beans. Did that not trigger any alarms in Ford USA marketing in the 70s? I know Pinto is a type of pony with odd color patches but I have to look that up every once in a while. And even if that's what they were going for, that's still a weird name to choose. I know companies often are oblivious to how names translate in other countries but was Mexican food just not popular in the 70s in the US?

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
> Mexican food just not popular in the 70s in the US? Definitely not in the NY and NJ area. There was one Mexican restaurant that I knew of in all NJ, and I never went there. Don’t forget the “mustang”, another car named after a horse by Ford that was very popular.
- ghaff 4y ago
  The food scene was a lot more limited than today, even in many relatively cosmopolitan cities.
nextos 4y ago
Actually pinto is a Spanish word that can be roughly translated as patches. Pinto beans are so called, like ponies, because of patchy appearance. Nonetheless, I agree with you, it's a confusing marketing strategy.
- linksnapzz 4y ago
  So, Ford for years wanted to have alliteration in product names- Falcon, Fairlane, Five Hundred, Flex, Fusion-not always, but often. In the '60s, there was a meeting in Dearborn-trying to name what would become the Mustang. Somebody in Marketing suggested "Ford Fenix"; "Phoenix" like the mythical bird, but spelled with an F, for the alliteration. Henry Ford II looked like he was considering it. Lee Iaccoca and his pal Ben Bidwell (later CEO & CFO at Chrysler in the '80s)but who worked for Ford at the time, suddenly cracked up laughing. Henry asked them what was so funny, and Bidwell repeated what he had just told Lee-"We could call it the Ford Phuck; the ads won't work on radio or TV, but they'd be fine in print!". Everyone had a good laugh, Henry Ford scowled, but nobody objected to calling the car Mustang after that.
jcampbell1 4y ago
I always assumed it was fake Spanish for pint-sized, which is used to mean small/compact.

TedDoesntTalk 4y ago

> Mexican food just not popular in the 70s in the US? Definitely not in the NY and NJ area. There was one Mexican restaurant that I knew of in all NJ, and I never went there. Don’t forget the “mustang”, another car named after a horse by Ford that was very popular.

ghaff 4y ago
The food scene was a lot more limited than today, even in many relatively cosmopolitan cities.

nextos 4y ago

Actually pinto is a Spanish word that can be roughly translated as patches. Pinto beans are so called, like ponies, because of patchy appearance. Nonetheless, I agree with you, it's a confusing marketing strategy.

linksnapzz 4y ago
So, Ford for years wanted to have alliteration in product names- Falcon, Fairlane, Five Hundred, Flex, Fusion-not always, but often. In the '60s, there was a meeting in Dearborn-trying to name what would become the Mustang. Somebody in Marketing suggested "Ford Fenix"; "Phoenix" like the mythical bird, but spelled with an F, for the alliteration. Henry Ford II looked like he was considering it. Lee Iaccoca and his pal Ben Bidwell (later CEO & CFO at Chrysler in the '80s)but who worked for Ford at the time, suddenly cracked up laughing. Henry asked them what was so funny, and Bidwell repeated what he had just told Lee-"We could call it the Ford Phuck; the ads won't work on radio or TV, but they'd be fine in print!". Everyone had a good laugh, Henry Ford scowled, but nobody objected to calling the car Mustang after that.

jcampbell1 4y ago

I always assumed it was fake Spanish for pint-sized, which is used to mean small/compact.